Love in a New Light
by anirishtwilight
Summary: Claire has just returned to La Push after living in California for 5 years for college. Quil has spent her entire life hiding his feelings from her until the right moment. Now it seems the time is right, but will Claire want what he has to offer?
1. Happy to be Home

Chapter 1

Quil tapped his fingers on the steering wheel of his truck nervously as he drove over to the Young residence, fighting the urge to speed. It had been five years since he had last seen Claire. Five long years of not being able to touch her hair, or hear her beautiful laugh; he practically ached to have her in his arms again. He found himself straining to push the gas pedal all the way to the floor. Grinning to himself, he turned his car stereo up and tried to focus on the road instead.

When he pulled into the narrow driveway that led up to the small, but cozy, house, his heart started beating in triple time. He took a moment to himself, turning the keys in the ignition until the dull roar of the old truck had quieted. He took a deep breath and muttered, "Get a hold on yourself, Ateara."

He jumped down from the truck bed fluidly, slamming the door behind him. He told himself it would probably make him seem a bit desperate if he ran all the way up her walkway. Instead he took long, graceful, measured steps until he reached the door. Taking another deep breath he knocked and then let himself in.

"_QUIL!"_

He let out a whoosh of breath as Claire launched herself at him like a missile. He wanted to tremble he was so happy to see her, to have his arms around her. He hadn't been sure if she was going to be as happy to see him, and the relief that washed over him made him giddy. "Claire," he said, grinning.

"Oh Quil, I'm so happy to see you. It's been way too long. Come on in, everyone is here…do you want something to eat? Emily and my mom made more food than I have ever seen in my entire life. It's really ridiculous. I don't know who they thought was going to eat all that. Oh! Look! The rest of the boys are coming!" She babbled on and on excitedly. She always got chatty when she was nervous.

He brushed a hand over her hair before turning around to see his brothers squeezing through the door. The sound level in the small room suddenly amplified by about ten times what it was two minutes before. He shook his head, laughing.

"Clairebear! You're home!" Jacob Black yelled, as he scooped her up and swung her around. She squealed and made a feeble attempt to squirm out of his grasp, but Quil could tell she loved the attention. The rest of the pack continued to shower her with attention. She was always everyone's favorite.

Claire had gone away to college in California, and the lack of money had kept her from visiting. The plane trips were just too expensive and she didn't have a car of her own. Quil felt a familiar ripple of guilt run through him as he thought, for the millionth time, about how he should have visited her. But then again, he felt maybe the distance would be good for them in the long run. The conversation he needed to have with her seemed like it would be better had with a 23 year old than with a 17 year old.

"Earth to Quil, come in Quil," Claire chirped happily, as she waved her hand in front of his face. "Did you fall asleep on your feet there, buddy?"

He grinned again, feeling like his face was going to split in half, "Oh you know, just to dream of you." He pecked her on the cheek and made his way over to the food table, suddenly starved.

She bounced behind him, "So, what have you been up to the last 5 years? I feel like I have so much to tell you!"

"Oh you know, got married, had 6 kids and started raising chickens for a living…everything you'd expect." He peeked a glance at her face and felt a selfish thrill at the way her shoulders slumped when he mentioned the word "married".

"Kidding, Clairebear. Not much has changed since you left, actually. I'm still doing patrol work around the reservation and working on cars with Jake in my spare time."

She perked up again, always like a ray of sunshine, and smiled happily. "Well that's nice! Patrol work, huh? Like a cop? I didn't realize the reservation really had a need for cops. Although, I do love a man in uniform, I must say. Hey, maybe you can build me a car sometime. I still don't have one, you know, and I might need one eventually when I finally get around to looking for a job."

He let the subject of what his job entailed, exactly, go for now. She still didn't know about the werewolf situation and he figured it would be better to drop that bomb all at once, rather than confuse her with disjointed details. Not to mention she was already on to the next four topics of conversation before he could even begin to formulate a response.

He laughed, feeling lighter than he had in a long time, and circled her waist, "Claire, you're going to pass out if you don't stop and take a breath. We have plenty of time to catch up. Why don't we sit down."

"Okay! I'm just so glad to be spending time with you again." She tilted her head to the side and rested it on his shoulder as he led her to the living room where the rest of the party was booming. It was cramped but they managed to find seats on the ground next to Jacob and Seth Clearwater.

Jacob turned as much as he could in the cramped space he had claimed and engaged Claire in animated conversation, "So, Clairebear, what are your plans? Are you sticking around for a while or are you taking off again and leaving us all broken hearted in your wake?"

She laughed. It was Quil's favorite laugh; the one that had her throwing her head back freely and letting out a sound of pure, unabashed humor.

"Actually, I was planning on tormenting you all with my presence for quite a while, unless you drive me out of town. I'll be staying here at home for a bit until I can find an apartment, but then I'll settle in and hopefully find a job in Port Angeles." She turned to Quil again, "That would be why I needed that car. I'd rather not walk to Port Angeles every day, if I can help it."

His heart soared at the thought of her living here permanently, "I'm sure we can fix you up with something. A scooter, or maybe a moped." He grinned impishly.

She gasped in mock horror, "Oh god, not a moped."

"Okay, how about a Vespa?"

She grimaced, a look of pain and dismay pasted on her face, "How will I ever be able to call myself a true professional driving a Vespa around?"

Jacob poked Claire in the side, "I hear they're all the rage in Europe, or something."

She rolled her eyes, laughing.

* * *

They all spent the rest of the night making plans for her new pimped out mini-bike and laughing until their sides hurt until the party started thinning out. After Claire had ushered Jared and Paul, the last of the party-goers, out of the door, she turned to smile at Quil brilliantly.

"That was a blast. I missed everyone so much."

He returned her smile and lifted his hand to brush his fingers through her soft hair again, "They missed you too. It's great to have you home." He took a deep breath, suddenly realizing just how alone they were. He had spent years exercising meticulous restraint when it came to her, and now she was old enough that they could have a real relationship if they so chose. He wasn't used to that kind of freedom and it was causing a mix of giddiness and nervous energy to course through him.

She took his hand and pulled him outside to the front porch, snapping him out of his musings. She lowered herself to the stoop to enjoy the warm June evening. "You've been uncharacteristically quiet, tonight, Quil, is everything okay?"

He sat beside her and leaned his back against one of the tall posts that framed the entrance to the porch. "Well how am I supposed to get a word in edgewise when some little minx just can't stop talking?" he smiled and pushed a bit of her hair behind her ear, "No, but really? I think I'm just overwhelmed by the fact that you're actually here and not just a figment of my imagination."

She giggled and reached over to shove his shoulder playfully, "Charmer."

He grinned and caught her hand in his, not letting it go. "I'll take this, thank you."

Not wanting to broach the subject of his undying love and passion for her quite this early in the game, he moved to a safer subject, "So what kind of job do you think you'll be looking for?"

She settled in closer to him in the way she always had. They had been best friends her entire life, but he had never let it move any further. Partially it was because he had promised her parents and Sam that he would wait until she was old enough to make a conscious decision about what she wanted from the relationship, and part of it was self preservation.

"Well, I have a dual degree in English and Journalism, so I was hoping to find a job at a newspaper, or maybe as an editor. It depends on what I can find in the city. Eventually I'd like to write my own novels, but right now, that's just a pipe dream." She smiled, "Until then, I wouldn't mind doing pretty much anything that came up."

He traced designs along her palm, "My Clairebear is a rogue scholar." He chuckled, unbelievably proud of what she had accomplished and what she planned on doing. She grinned too.

"So," She said thoughtfully, "Do you know of any great places I can move into…like…as soon as possible? I love my parents dearly but I can tell already it's going to get really old really fast living with them again after five years on my own."

"Hmm. I know of a great house for sale down the road a bit from my own, if you don't mind fixer-uppers. I could always help you get it up to par if you wanted. It's also selling for dirt cheap." Even as he said it, the possibilities were churning through his head. It was a small pleasure of his to take something old and turn it into something new, and he certainly had a knack for it.

"That actually sounds great. I'd love to take on a project like that, all _HGTV_ style. Especially if it means getting all down and dirty with you in some construction hats." She laughed again, "When can we go see it?"

"Well, I'm sure tomorrow would be fine if you are free. I'm just as willing as you are to get started on it. You might want to see just want you're getting into first, though." He grimaced, picturing the slightly dilapidated structure and the shingles that were in desperate need of a coat of paint.

"I'm sure it's perfect," she said, yawning involuntarily.

He smiled and raised her hand to kiss it gently, "You should get some sleep, honey. You must be exhausted from all that traveling."

"Mmm. Maybe a bit. But I'll see you bright and early tomorrow?" Her eyes were so bright and hopeful he wanted to jump for joy, or kiss her right on the spot. He reminded himself, once again, to keep himself under control.

"Of course. Bright and early." He kissed her forehead and stood up, pulling her with him. She surprised him by stepping forward and grasping him in a tight hug.

"I'm so glad to be home."


	2. Things to Think About

Chapter 2

The next morning, Claire was awakened from a rather delicious dream she was having by a familiar husky voice in her ear.

"Wake up, Sleepyhead. It's almost eleven," and then a chuckle.

She groaned miserably and rolled over, pulling the comforter over her head, "Go away, evil beast."

The current bane of her existence inched closer to her on the mattress and shook her gently by the shoulder, "Come on, Clairebear, don't you want to meet your new, gorgeous house? I know you do…"

She grumbled again, burying her face even deeper in the pillow, "In the next century, maybe. For now, this pillow is my home."

For a moment, she thought the monster was going to leave her be, but when she had just begun drifting off again she felt herself tilting on her axis.

"What the HELL…" she screeched as she was dumped unceremoniously on the floor beside her bed.

A rich laugh filled the room that would have warmed her heart at any other moment than this. "I never said I was going to fight clean."

Quil leaned over to help her up and handed her a warm cup of coffee when she was finally upright.

"I'll get you, Quil Ateara. And your little dog too."

He shook with laughter and pushed her into the kitchen, guiding her stumbled steps assuredly. "What do you want for breakfast, Honey, I'll make anything."

"Oh, what are you, Master Chef, now?" she was still feeling rather cranky, but he was un phased and much more amused than was to her liking. "Fine. Eggs."

As La Push's own Emeril made Claire her eggs, her mood slowly started warming up into something much more amiable. The mix of coffee and Quil was pulling her out of her "early" morning stupor and reminding her that she really was excited to meet her new house.

As Quil strode off in the direction of the kitchen, Claire took a moment to look at her reflection in the full length mirror propped haphazardly against her closet door. She grimaced at the image staring back at her. Her old UCLA t-shirt, which was extremely comfortable to sleep in, had begun to obtain holes from being worn constantly. Her shiny, pin straight, black hair was falling around her face and down slightly past her shoulders in unattractive tangles from the night's sleep. Not to mention, the old flannel boxers she had slept in the night before weren't exactly Victoria's Secret sexy. She took a moment to at least run a brush through her hair before she joined Quil.

"So, when do you think we can get started on the house?" she said with a yawn, looking at least mildly presentable now with her hair in a smooth ponytail and a hooded sweatshirt over her holey t-shirt.

He turned around and placed the plate of scrambled eggs in front of her with a glass of orange juice, and then propped himself against the counter as she ate, looking very natural in her kitchen. "Well, I'm sure John wouldn't mind closing a deal with you quick on the thing. He's been trying to get someone to take it off his hands for a while now. And by quick I mean…somewhere around today," he laughed. "I'm not saying all the paper work will be official today, but he won't care if you get started on it. You know how it is around here."

Claire smiled contentedly. She did know how it was around here, and that was why she was so glad to be back in La Push after 5 years in L.A. Although living in the city certainly had its advantages, there was nothing like the warmth of being in her home town.

"That sounds absolutely perfect. I'm really amped to get started."

He smiled at her again with a brief, intense emotion flashing through his eyes that she couldn't quite identify before it disappeared.

"Well, we'll head right over once you finish your eggs," he said, and ruffled her hair the way he used to when she was 10.

She wrinkled her nose at him in humor and finished shoveling the eggs into her mouth like a good girl.

* * *

After she was showered and dressed, she and Quil took his truck over to the house in question to take a look at it. She was practically bouncing in her seat she was so excited. The ideas were racing through her head even without having seen the place.

"…and I have a pretty good amount of money saved up from the intern work that I was able to do throughout my college years and then the year of work that I did after graduation. One perk of graduating with honors was getting a great job right out of school. I got more pay than most of the people that were there for years and years before me…which bodes well for my little house project. Especially if you say I'm going to get a good deal on the actual house itself."

She was rambling again, but it couldn't be helped considering the fervor building in her chest as they neared Quil's street which would soon be her street as well. He lived in a small apartment that was a part of a larger house…which wasn't really saying much in La Push. None of the houses were really what you would call large.

As he turned into the lane, she leaned forward, trying to see around the bend in the street, "Oh my goodness, which one is it?"

He chuckled again, "Geez, Claire, we're like two seconds away, you can't hold it together for that long?"

"No! I want to see it now!"

She squealed and hopped out of the truck in a flash when he pulled up to the curb in front of the seriously dilapidated old house. Its wooden siding had greyed with age and neglect, but she could see the potential in it after a fresh coat of paint. The house had a large porch that extended itself in the front with a spindled rail around the perimeter and plenty of space for a swing and furniture. It had large windows and a surprisingly large front door. The yard was covered in large, green trees that were common to the area and gave the plot a great deal of privacy and character. And aside from all of these features that had her excited…it was also the largest house on the street.

She wheeled around and looked at Quil with wide eyes, "You didn't let on!"

He rocked back on his heels, a small smile on his face and the same emotion in his eyes that she wasn't able to identify earlier and still wasn't able to identify now, "Is that to say you like it?"

"Oh God, I love it!"

She ran over and threw herself at him, planting a huge kiss on his lips. She had expected the kiss to be friendly; something that had passed between them numerous times throughout the years whenever she was overly exuberant about something. What she hadn't expected was for him to pull her to him tightly and crush his lips to hers in a kiss much more passionate than any that she had ever shared with any man, let alone her Quil.

She responded instantly with a gasp, her lips moving with his in surprise, but certainly not refusal. His lips were so hot. Not in the magazine model way but in the running a fever that should melt his brain kind of way. Maybe it was just her own body's reaction to his that was causing the effect. As she pressed her body closer to his, she could feel that the rest of his body was rather warm as well. His large hands spread out across her back, pulling her as close as they could. When a moan escaped her lips, he broke away, leaving both of them breathing heavily.

"Well. That was unexpected," she breathed, laughing with what air she had left in her lungs.

He frowned slightly and pulled away a bit, putting her at arms length, "Yeah, sorry. I got a little carried away."

She returned his frown, turning away. She wished he hadn't apologized. Did that mean he regretted the kiss?

"No harm, no foul."

She felt him come up behind her and brush a hand across her hair and then kiss her softly on the cheek, "Let's check out the inside, okay?"

She was more confused in that moment than she had ever been in her entire life.

"Yeah, okay. Inside."

* * *

As Quil kicked through the door, Claire followed behind him, trying to shake the kiss out of her head. She'd try to figure out the meaning of it later…but for now she wanted to go back to enjoying her dream house fantasies.

The entire place was covered in about a 5 inch layer of dark grey dust. That was the first thing she noticed, but after she got past the coughing and laughing fit, she was happy to see that it was a fantastic space. As they walked through the door there was a long hallway ahead of them with various rooms jutting off to the right and left. They were standing in a foyer of sorts (a very small foyer, but a foyer just the same in Claire's mind).

To the right there was a large room that reached the span of half the house and was separated in the middle by a small frame. One side of the frame marked the dining room and the other side was a reasonably roomy living room. Across from another large opening off of the living room was the door to a small half bathroom.

The entire back of the house was dominated by a kitchen. The kitchen was completely gutted and would have to have all new things put into it…but that didn't really bother Claire. She couldn't imagine anything that would have been in here would be useable anyway so having it empty just saved them one more hassle.

Next, Claire and Quil climbed up the small set up stairs to the upper floor. There were two bedrooms and another bathroom with an old fashioned porcelain tub with a shower fixture attached to it. Claire was thrilled, as she loved antiques and would really enjoy restoring the old piece.

After checking out both of the rooms, she stood in the middle of the one she declared would be hers and spun a full circle.

"It's perfect," she sighed. "And it's practically a mansion compared to most of the houses around here…people just didn't want to take on the hassle of fixing it up?"

"Well, Clairebear, not everyone is big city and rolling in the money like you are, you know." He said it with a chuckle, but she caught the hint of truth and dismay behind his words.

She walked over to him and circled her arms around his waist. He stiffened at first, which hurt her for reasons she couldn't put her finger on yet, but then he relaxed and returned the hug.

"Thanks for finding the house for me, Quil."

"Sure thing, Honey. It will be fun living on the same street as you."

She sighed again, burying her face in his chest for a moment before pulling away. "Can we check out the back yard?"

He smiled, "Yeah, I think you'll really like it."

They climbed carefully back down the stairs—she would definitely have to reinforce them so she didn't break her neck one of these days if they broke through—and then exited though the back door in the kitchen.

There was a small deck right outside of the door with two steps down into the yard. As she and Quil stepped all the way out on to the weathered wood, she gasped when she took a look at the sight before her.

There was a large pond set about a hundred feet away from the house with large trees surrounding it. The grass needed to be cut and some of the weeds around the pond would need to be trimmed, but the landscape itself was absolutely gorgeous.

"Quil, it's perfect."

She turned to find him frowning at her again rather than looking at the yard. She found herself wondering, again, what had crawled up his ass. In her estimation, the kiss they had shared was pretty fantastic. Apparently he didn't share her feelings on the matter or he wouldn't be spending every awkward moment since glowering at her.

"Okay, what's the deal. Why are you looking at me like I kicked your dog?" she lifted her chin defiantly, ready for an argument.

He shook his head, apparently shaken out of whatever thought process he had been wrapped up in, "What are you talking about?"

She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously, "Well, since our little passionate smooch in front of my new mansion, you have been acting really strange and I'm wondering if you feel that my kissing skills are really that terrible."

He looked truly baffled, "No, Claire, it just caught me off guard…"

She lifted an eyebrow at him and smiled, "So it wasn't bad?"

"Are you serious?" He shook his head incredulously, looking at her as if she had three heads, "The reason I had to stop was because it was so good. I need to think about things."

Grinning mischievously, Claire took a step up onto the top step of the deck so she could reach his face and planted a short kiss on his lips, "Okay. Think about them, and get back to me. I'll be thinking too."

She flashed a brilliant smile over her shoulder before running back into the house, leaving him shaking his head.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you SO much to everyone who has been reviewing and adding this story to their alerts and favorites! I never imagined it would be this popular! I love my Claire and Quil, but it is so exciting that you all love them too! I hope you continue to enjoy the story as much as the first chapter...let me know! Much LOVE! Katie  
**


	3. You Can't Undo What's Already Been Done

Chapter 3

The day flew by, and before either of them realized it, the sun had begun casting its late afternoon shadows across the earth. At around 5pm, Quil wiped a dirt streaked hand across his brow. Claire had been pulling him around the house all day making plans for their impending construction project. It wasn't that he minded spending the time with her, by any means, but his stomach had begun growling so loud that she could hear it across the room.

"Jeez, Quil, are you seriously telling me that entire pizza you ate by yourself at lunch wasn't enough for you? You're hungry again?" she said it with an incredulous laugh that had her bright white teeth shining through the dusty smudges on her cheeks.

"Hey, I can't help it, okay? A growing boy has to eat." He grinned and wrapped a playful arm around her shoulders, rubbing her hair affectionately. Although he made the gesture in the same way he always had—she was still, and always would be, his Clairebear—after their kiss earlier that day, he couldn't help but feel a certain jolt whenever his body made contact with hers. The feeling was akin to some kind of static electricity running between them. He wasn't entirely sure he was comfortable with it.

She craned her neck to look up at him, her petite height of 5'3" completely dwarfed by his 6'5". "Speaking of growing, when did you get so tall? I practically need binoculars to see your face up there."

Quil fixed a very serious expression on his face and said, "Oh, you know. My bed is next to a microwave."

She stared at him for a moment, and then exploded into a fit of laugher. Through gasps of air she said, "Yeah, well, you'll have to find me one of those so I can catch up."

After getting a grip on her sanity again, she sighed dramatically and twisted out of his grasp to put her hands on her hips in a pose of mock impatience. "Okay, growing boy, back to the matter at hand. What do we need to get you to eat this time?"

He paused, running his hand absently across the back of his neck. Part of him wanted to ask her to come to his house. He wanted to spend the rest of the night with her—hell, he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her—but he didn't want to rush her into anything, considering the circumstances she wasn't even aware of yet. He wondered if she would even want to have dinner with him or if he was just imagining this new found chemistry between them.

"Actually, I was thinking maybe you could come over to my place tonight, if you wanted to. I could cook you dinner and show you around. You haven't been in La Push since I got my very own house!"

He wasn't going to admit to himself or to her that he was holding his breath for her answer. He tried to convince himself that he'd be okay with whatever response she gave him, but when she grinned and bounced up on the balls of her feet like she always did when she was especially excited, he almost laughed with giddy relief.

"I'd love to! Wow, breakfast and dinner in the same day? Clearly you're the man of my dreams. Sign me up!"

He chuckled and took a step closer to her, pushing the limits of the new connection they had made. He lifted his hand to brush his thumb over the soft skin of her cheek and heard her breath catch. Ducking his head so he was eye to eye with her he spoke in a low, husky tone; "In the meantime, let me show you how much I really did enjoy your kissing skills."

He hesitated for a moment—not because he was unsure of what he was doing, but to draw the moment out. He saw her eyes flutter shut and he moved in slowly, just barely rubbing his lips across hers. She curled her arms around his neck and pulled herself closer to him as he deepened the kiss just slightly. _Not too much too fast, Quil_, he reminded himself. His hands stroked up her back until he cupped one hand at the back of her neck.

She tilted her head to the side to have better access at his lips, and he held her to him with the hand that he had pressed at the small of her back. When he felt them both getting a little out of control from the heat of the kiss, he pulled away reluctantly. He gave her a slow smile when she finally opened her eyes.

She smiled back, a bit winded, and said, "Okay. I believe you now."

* * *

Quil drove Claire to her parent's house so she could get cleaned up and changed for dinner while he went home to prepare for the night. He was still flying pretty high from that kiss, and he couldn't stop thinking about the possibility of getting his hands on her again.

It was a strange feeling for him. He was adjusting pretty well, if he did say so himself; but he had gotten so used to thinking of Claire as a younger sister out of necessity all of these years that this new change was a lot to take in. He certainly didn't mind, however.

Things certainly had changed since she'd returned from California. He knew it was going to happen someday, but there was no way he could have prepared himself for that first jolt that ran through him when he saw her again after all of those years. It was like someone had plugged him into the electrical socket finally. Although all he had _ever_ seen was Claire since he first met her when she was two, this was a different kind of feeling for him. His feelings for her had immediately turned from big brother to the something much more.

He drew in an unsteady breath just thinking about it. It was exhilarating being in love this way, but he felt completely lost as to how to approach the issue with Claire. She was obviously attracted to him, but the reality of the situation was larger than life. How could he explain this to her? _Hey, I know I was like a brother to you all these years, but now I actually want to marry you._ Or maybe _I realize I'm sixteen years older than you, but I swear I'm young for my age._ He had a lot of explaining to do. Not to mention the whole—By _the way, I'm a mythical creature that phases into a giant dog whenever I want…is that cool with you?_

After pulling his truck into his small gravel driveway, he scrubbed his hands over his face. He would have to figure it out, somehow. He couldn't stand to lose her now, that was for sure.

Resolving that he would cross that bridge when he came to it, he jumped out of his truck, slamming the door behind him. He opened the door to his house, depositing his keys haphazardly on the small table next to the door. After closing it behind him, he went through the sliding patio doors that took up one entire side of his kitchen's wall to fire up his grill.

He would take a shower while the grill was heating up, and then cook dinner when he got out. This thought in mind, he pulled his dirty t-shirt over his head and quickly ran a hand through his cropped hair. Re-entering the kitchen, he realized the small answering machine on the counter was blinking red, indicating he had three messages. He punched the play button impatiently.

"_Yo, Brother! It's Jake. Where have you been? I haven't seen you since Claire's party…although I guess I really don't need to ask do I? When you figure out how to peel off that layer of gooey, lovey-dovey candy from your brain, give me a call."_

Quil noted to punch Jake in the face for that one.

"_Quil, it's your mother. Give me a call please. Love you, baby."_

He rolled his eyes at that one. He could be 60 and she would still call him baby. In a way it was endearing, but mostly just embarrassing. The next message had Sam's voice ringing through his kitchen.

"_Hey Quil. It's not a problem now, otherwise I would have found you myself, but we may have an issue on its way. All of us are going to get together tonight around 1am. I'll fill you in then. Until then, enjoy your night with Claire."_

He shook his head incredulously, wondering how on earth he knew about his night with Claire already. Sometimes he thought maybe it was better not to know. What worried him more was what this possible problem was.

He was still thinking about it when he stepped out of the shower and got dressed. He dragged on a pair of his best jeans and a decent black t-shirt and padded out to the kitchen to get dinner started. He was making them rosemary seasoned steak with garlic potatoes and buttered green beans. From what he remembered, this was one of Claire's favorite dinners. That was one advantage of having been around every day of her life since she was a child—he knew exactly what she loved and hated and what made her tick…for the most part.

He was just setting the table when he heard the knock on the door. I only took his long legs three strides across the small living room to reach for the knob. The last coherent thought in his mind after opening the door was that he should have prepared himself for this.

Claire hadn't dressed up, but what she had worn had the apparent air of being expensive and big city. She wore attractive, tailored jeans that conformed to her shape in all the right places. Her white tank top had a gathered bodice that tightened around her ribcage but then fell slack around the rest of her abdomen. He noticed that she was considerably closer to his face, and took note of the fact that she had strapped on 4 inch wedge sandals to complete her look.

Nothing about her look was as stunning, however, as Claire herself. Her ebony hair fell in perfect arcs around her face and she wore just a minimal amount of make-up—she didn't need much…just enough to make him utterly insane.

When he finally found his voice, he croaked out, "You look beautiful, Claire."

She grinned, always comfortable, and said "You're looking pretty dashing yourself, Handsome."

She raised up on her toes to plant a firm kiss on his lips before whirling away to look around his small house. He stood there, cemented in the spot for a moment, before he was able to close the door and show her around.

"Quil this is so adorable! I really love what you've done in here. Who knew you were such a little home maker!" She was currently running her palm over the smooth leather of his couch.

He smiled, "Yeah, well, my mother spent all of my formative years beating it into my head and to her intense pleasure it all stuck."

She paced around the room, looking at the black and white photos of nature he had hung on the walls.

"These are beautiful. Where did you get them? I might want to get some for the walls of my new mansion."

He walked over to stand beside her, "I took them myself."

She snapped her head around to look at him, her eyes wide. "Seriously? They're amazing Quil!"

He smiled, "Yeah, I needed something to do while you were in California, didn't I?"

She was stunned. She would never have pegged Quil to be an artist; he was the typical outdoors kind of man, and always one to run with the boys. It was absolutely shocking right to the ground to see this other intimate side of him. She turned to him and shook her head, "Amazing."

A lopsided grin broke out on his face, "Thank you."

He took her hand and brushed his thumb across her knuckles before saying, "Come on, lets see if I can amaze you with my artistry in the kitchen as well."

* * *

Claire was completely stuffed, and thoroughly impressed that Quil had supplied her with such a delicious meal. The man had some serious skills in the kitchen, which was hard to come by in such an attractive man. He was just racking up the points on the hotness scale, as far as she was concerned--which was not helping the tension that was already electrifying the air after their kiss from earlier that day. They had conveniently avoided the subject all throughout dinner, but Claire wasn't really one to let something go that intrigued her; Quil _definitely_ intrigued her.

She swirled the red wine around in the elegant glass he had given her. They were sitting in his backyard, stretched out on a thick woven blanket he had laid out for this purpose. The night was beautiful and it would have been a shame to waste it inside. She took a deep breath and turned to smile at him--a slow, flirtatious smile.

"So, have you been thinking?"

He had assumed a position stretched completely out on his back with his head pillowed on his hands. His eyes had been closed and a serene smile had been fixed on his features. With his, his eyes flickered open slowly and he turned his head to look at her inquisitively as if she had woken him out of a deep sleep. "Hmmm? Thinking?"

She grinned, "Yes, Quil, thinking. Remember you said you needed to think about things?"

He propped himself up on his elbows, a small frown forming between his brows.

"I think maybe I've been thinking too much. It probably isn't right for me to be thinking about you as much as I have been."

This was exactly what Claire wanted to hear. She was absolutely awful at being demure-- especially with Quil-- and therefore rather than playing a sly temptress, she let a smile of unabandoned pleasure spread across her face. She sat up to curl her legs under her, sidling herself up to his side and looking down at him, her hair cascading over one shoulder.

"Okay, so what does that mean?" she said lifting one sculpted eyebrow.

She felt her heart flutter when he pulled himself upright so he was eye to eye with her. "It means, Claire, that even if I wanted to stop thinking about you, I don't think I can. I don't know what you've done to me."

He lifted a hand to her face, his palm and long fingers cupping her chin lightly as he leaned into her face. She gasped in a short breath before his lips met hers. It was slow and testing at first, just like their second kiss. He stroked his long fingers down her face from temple to jaw until he cupped his hand at the base of her neck. She turned her head to allow him to deepen the kiss, lifting her hands to run them over his shoulders and down his arms. What she wasn't expecting was her reaction when he nipped her lip playfully.

Suddenly it was as if every inch of her body was on fire, the flames licking her skin ruthlessly. She moaned and pulled herself closer to him. This time he didn't stop her from losing control; he didn't pull away like he had earlier right when he felt that tether starting to strain. She heard something akin to a low growl emanate from him as he trailed his lips down the column of her throat. Her hands found their way under his shirt to grip at the muscles of his back. She lost all sense of time, so she wasn't sure how long this went on before he broke away leaving them both breathless.

She held his gaze, the look in his eyes more intense than any she had seen in anyone else's. She still couldn't identify the emotion--it was something deeper than anything else she had ever experienced. It sent a pleasant shiver down her spine as a shaky smile formed on her lips.

"Well, okay then. I can't say I want to undo whatever I've done."

* * *

**A/N: Oh my gosh everyone I am SO sorry this took so long for me to write and post. My life went absolutely insane and I just could not get it knocked out. I thought about you guys all the time though! Every time I got an author watch or a story watch in my e-mail box I was like OH MY I REALLY NEED TO FINISH THAT CHAPTER! So, here it is! I hope you guys aren't totally discouraged with me and you are still interested! Please show me love through comments, I could really REALLY use the pick me up! Love you all! Katie  
**


	4. The Naked Truth

Chapter Four

Quil dragged her against his body roughly, and Claire reveled in the fact that he wasn't treating her as if she was breakable little Clairebear. She pulled his shirt over his head and ran her fingers up through his thick black hair and gripped the strands fiercely as she latched herself around him like a vise. Breaking away from his mouth, she turned her attention to his jaw, trailing her lips down the perfectly chiseled bone, alternating smoldering kisses and soft nips, making her way down to his neck at a torturous pace that had him moaning and tightening his already almost desperate grip on her back a little tighter. When she felt him tug at the hem of her shirt and lifted her arms for him to pull it over her head, revealing the lacy white bra beneath. He pulled her tight to his body again, burying his face in the crook of her neck. However, his next reaction was not what she was expecting.

"Wait, Claire. We need to slow down."

She held her breath for a long moment and blinked, shocked. She had risen onto her knees for him to remove her shirt, but with his words, she fell back to the ground with an unceremonial thump, meeting his eyes with a gaze that was a mix of confusion and hurt.

"I'm sorry, did you see something you didn't like?" She started to gather her shirt from the floor beside him and pulled it up to her chest, covering herself and suddenly feeling very vulnerable and exposed. Feelings she had never experienced with Quil and never thought she would.

He ran his hands through his hair looking truly tortured and not a little shaken. He reached out to run his hands down her arms, but she flinched at his touch. "Claire, honey, come on. Do you really think I'm the kind of the man that would just throw you down on my living room rug and ravage you? I care about you way too much for that. We need to back up about twenty steps here."

Her eyes flashed fire and she pulled her shirt over her head, getting to her feet and putting a few feet between them, indicating her anger. "That seems to be a problem with you, Quil. Wanting to take things in twenty steps when they can be taken in five. Why always the long way around? Afraid you're going to make a terrible mistake?"

Suddenly he was practically nose to nose with her again, and it seemed to her that he had gotten there incredibly too fast. She blinked once, but forgot her confusion in his words. "Use your head, Claire. How long have you known me? How many times have you seen me this rattled? The feelings I have for you are deep in a way you wouldn't even understand yet. I wasn't expecting this to happen right now."

Narrowing her eyes, she took another very deliberate step back. "Okay, so I need to use my head and I also, for some reason, am too stupid to understand whatever it is that is going on in that rock-hard head of yours even though I know you better than probably anyone in the world."

He coughed out a bitter laugh, "You have no idea."

Her whole body jerked back now and the anger drained from her face replaced with pure hurt. "Apparently there are a lot of things I'm clueless about. I think it's time for me to go."

Picking up her purse, she ran to the door, fighting the tears that were threatening to bubble to the surface. She absolutely refused to cry right now, not in front of him.

"Claire, wait!" He tried to catch her before she slammed the door in his face, but he was too late.

All he could hear before the sharp smack of wood against wood was a choked, "Bye, Quil."

-----

She lasted roughly three minutes and twenty seconds before she broke down.

The racking sobs were so violent that she actually had to pull her car over to the side of the road. She felt pathetic for a number of reasons, and now adding to that list was the fact that she couldn't even drive her sorry self back to her house to wallow in her rejection in at least some comfort.

She rested her forehead on the steering wheel and tried to take deep breaths and think about what could have possibly gone so wrong when she thought things were going so well. Did she push things too fast? Was it really that he didn't want her from the start and she had just pressured him into kissing her so she didn't feel bad? Another choked sob ran through her as she considered that option. It seemed that her relationship with Quil had taken a very complicated turn since they had both grown up.

When she felt she was finally calm enough to at least have control over the accelerator, she turned the car over again and made her way back toward home. Maybe it was for the best anyway. Being in a relationship when she was trying to start a professional life here in Port Angeles would just complicate things. Maybe she shouldn't live in La Push at all and she should just find an apartment right in Port Angeles. She really was more suited to the city anyway.

The ideas raced through her head one after another as she raced mindlessly down the road, not seeing the path ahead of her. When the huge black form jumped in front of her car, she slammed on the breaks with a shocked scream, having not been paying attention. Her headlights ran across a hint of fur before it slinked back into the night.

Her breath was coming in short, shaky gasps, and her head was pounding from where it had slammed into her driver's side window. She could already feel welts growing where her seat belts had dug into her chest and stomach. Gripping the wheel, she knew she was beginning to hyperventilate, panicking, but there was nothing she could do about it. What the hell was that thing?

When something slammed into her window, she screamed again and thought she was going to die of shock right there. When her door opened and she heard vaguely familiar tones reaching her ears, familiar hands pulling her from the car, she tried to protest, but couldn't fight the blackness that had begun to invade her vision.

"Claire, stay with me. Christ. Claire, don't pass out on me, you've gotta stay with me, okay? Just listen to my voice."

She knew it was Quil, and the knowledge was further confirmed by the blue streak of profanities that was only partially intelligible, intermittently punctuated by something about idiotic bastards and killing them. She shook her head and wondered if he had a personal relationship with the giant deer in the area.

"Quil, what the hell. Put me down. We're fighting." She slapped a half-hearted hand against his shoulder, and cursed her body for being so unresponsive.

"Shut up, Claire. You're hurt. God, Claire, I'm so sorry." Again, sounding tortured, he carried her like a delicate piece of china.

"Yeah, that helps." She rolled her eyes, but immediately regretted the gesture as it suddenly felt like someone beat her in the forehead with the sharp end of a hammer. She groaned miserably at the pain and gave into the temptation of putting her head on his shoulder.

"What's wrong? Oh God, what's wrong? Don't worry, we're almost home."

"What? I was a good five miles away still, we've only been walking five minutes. I appreciate your attempt to delude me, but I'll be fine, Quil. I'm a big girl." She gritted her teeth against the pain that was now shooting through her entire body. However, as he suddenly hugged her closer, she noticed that he was running a fever at about a million degrees and it was beginning to bring on a sharp contrast to the icy shaking of her post-accident shock.

"Are you sick, Quil?"

"Huh? Sick? What are you talking about?"

"Well, your body is about as hot as summer pavement in California. And I don't mean that in the complimentary sense, after tonight."

When she was met with complete silence from Quil, she narrowed her eyes, but dropped the subject and put it on her list of future heated discussions to have with him. No pun intended.

It was only a moment later when she felt one of his arms reaching away from her body to grab at something in front of them. She heard the turning of a doorknob, and her eyes snapped open painfully. She stared at her front door disbelievingly. They couldn't seriously be home that fast.

"Wow. I must have hit my head pretty hard."

She felt a jolt run through his body and looked up to see the look of utter terror on his face, "Why, are you in pain? What's wrong? What should I do? Let me get you ice or something."

Truly annoyed now, she smacked at him in earnest. "No! Quil, put me down. I can walk. I'm going to get into bed like a good girl, I promise." When he hesitated, she practically growled at him. "Quil, I swear to God, if you don't put me down right now you'll be sorry for weeks."

He lifted an eyebrow and put her down very carefully. She teetered slightly, but kept her balance precariously. She was a sorry sight to be seen. Her hair was sticking out at all angles, a huge bruise was beginning to form on the left side of her face, her clothes were rumpled from being pressed against Quil's body on the "ride" home, and her makeup had caked to her cheeks as a result of her crying jag. Quil tilted his head at her, resisting the urge to gather her back into his arms. He knew she wouldn't appreciate it, but she had never looked more breakable to him than right in that moment, and he couldn't be more worried.

"I need a moment." She intoned through clenched teeth.

With that he watched her make her way carefully to the bathroom. He shook his head and scrubbed his hands over his face. Pulling himself together, he remembered he had a phone call to make.

Pulling his cell phone out of his pocket, he hit the button for his recent calls and pressed the send button next to Jacob's name.

When he heard the other man's voice on the other end of the phone, the just barely restrained anger was rife in his voice. "What in the ever living hell were you thinking and why should I not come and beat the hell out of you right now, Jacob Black?"

There was silence for a few long moments before Jacob spoke. "Quil, I really wish I knew what you were talking about. Trust me."

Quil gritted his teeth, "Oh, that's great, Jake. Let me refresh your memory. Remember walking out in front of Claire's car and almost killing her? Did you have somewhere important to be? Because it didn't seem like you were in much of a hurry to get there as you ambled across the road like a freaking opossum."

"Quil, man, we have a problem. I don't remember anything that happened tonight. I don't remember any of that."

"What the hell are you talking about, Jacob?" Quil gripped the phone, hearing the plastic strain in his hand.

"I don't know yet. We don't know yet. We are going to have to talk about it soon though. We're meeting tomorrow night. 8pm. Sam was going to let you know later, but he knew you had to take care of Claire first."

Letting his head fall into his free hand, he said, "Fine. I'll be there. I swear to God though, there better be a good explanation for this. She almost died, Jake. Do you know what that felt like? The love of my life almost died and there was nothing I could do."

"I'm so sorry, Quil. I can't promise a good explanation, but we're going to try. I'll see you tomorrow, alright?"

"Yeah." He hung up the phone with an angry snap and after a deep breath looked up. He jolted out of the chair when he saw Claire propped against the wall with a look of shock on her face.

"Well that's kind of contradictory considering tonight's earlier events, isn't it?"

"Clair, what do you think I was trying to say? How was I supposed to just throw that at you? You haven't even been home three weeks yet and here I am professing my undying love for you? Is it unreasonable for me to fear your reaction to that?" His face was etched with some kind of expectant fear that had Claire frowning.

"It's my turn to call you an idiot, Quil. You're obviously completely blind."

He lifted an eyebrow, "Okay, point taken, it's annoying being called an idiot. Now, do you have any other point?"

She began staggering over to him and he was before her in a flash, bracing her with his hands on her upper arms. "Claire, you're hurt."

"I'm fine, Ateara, would you just listen? I've been in love with you for what seems like my entire life. When you rejected me tonight I felt like you had chewed up my heart and spit it out at my feet. Why do you think it hurt so bad? I don't get all torn up like that over every boy I kiss, I'm not quite that pathetic. You should have told me you loved me years ago. What the hell were you waiting for?"

She reached up and strained to kiss him, but couldn't close the distance without her head screaming in protest. He did gladly did her a favor, however, and met her halfway, softly pressing his lips to hers in a kiss that warmed her body straight to its core. Resting his forehead against hers he said, "Claire, you have no idea how long I've waited to hear those words. I wish the circumstances could have been a little bit less messy."

"Yeah, I second that emotion." She pulled away and met his gaze with an intense look of questioning. "What were you talking to Jacob about, Quil?"

He took a step back, keeping his hands braced around her arms, but obviously guarding his expression. "Claire, that isn't a conversation we should have tonight. Maybe when you're feeling better. You obviously have a concussion and we need to get you to bed and get you some rest. You've gotten yourself pretty banged up."

She narrowed her eyes again, once again feeling suspicious. "Quil...why are you hedging? I don't like dishonesty. Especially from you."

"I'm not being dishonest, Claire. I will tell you everything once you get some rest, I promise." He met her gaze in earnest and stroked a hand across her hair. "Please let me take you to bed."

She grinned, "Now there's an offer I can't refuse."

He chuckled, "Always a comedian."

Scooping her up in his arms for the second time that night, he hauled her off to tuck her in.

-----

When Claire woke up the next morning, she felt like she had been run over by her car the night before rather than having been in it. The bruise on her face had bloomed into a cacophony of color; purples, greens, yellows and reds blossomed across her cheek and eye making her look like a prized fighter. Her head was pounding about fifteen times worse than it was before she had fallen asleep and the places where her seatbelt had fastened her in felt like some large animal had kicked her numerous times in the torso. She was not in good shape.

Not all was lost about the morning, however. As she allowed herself to finally regain consciousness, she realized that her bed seemed to be sporting some kind of space heater that was currently gently, tentatively wrapped around her. She smiled and began to turn toward him but stopped dead in her tracks as her whole body screamed for her to stop. She emitted a low groan that sounded wretched even to her own ears.

Quil had apparently been sleeping, but at the sound of her pitiful pain, he jolted awake and brushed a hand across her forehead, "What's wrong, honey, are you in pain? Can I get you something? What can I do?"

"All right, Mother Goose, cut back on the honking. I'm fine, I just moved too fast."

His low chuckle vibrated through her back, causing small, painful aches to pulse through her body, but she couldn't really bring herself to care that much. It also caused a fingertip of pleasure to race down her spine.

"So this is the key to getting Quil Ateara into bed, huh? Smash yourself to smithereens. I must admit it's a bit unconventional, but I suppose the ends do justify the means." She grinned cheekily at him, knowing the statement would bother him.

"Claire, I..."

She turned over, much more carefully this time, and was bold enough to even roll on top of him--although she paid for it with shooting pain throughout her stomach. It was worth it. "Lighten up, would you? I was just kidding. I'm really fine, Quil. It's not your fault I'm hurt. I really don't understand why you're acting like it is." She lowered her lips to his, drawing the kiss out. Running her tongue along his lower lip she enticed him to let her in, to deepen the kiss. He obliged, parting his lips with a soft moan. After a moment, she pulled away with a rather feline smile gracing her not-quite-satiated mouth. "I could get used to this love thing. And to this waking up with you thing."

He grinned, "Yeah well, don't get too used to it. We're going to take it slow, remember?"

She pouted, "I don't remember exactly agreeing to that."

He ran a finger over her bottom lip, "Your pout hasn't changed a bit in 22 years, Claire."

Wrinkling her nose she nuzzled her face into his neck, "Your iron will hasn't changed in 22 years either, old man. I'll crack through it though, don't you worry."

Sighing, he ran a hand down her back, "That's what I'm afraid of."

Planting a kiss on his neck, she pulled her head back up to meet his gaze. "So about your conversation with Jake. I feel like there's something you're not telling me."

Quil immediately tensed. She could feel it run through him like a ramrod beneath her from head to toe.

"Okay...sore subject I've gathered?" She ran her thumb across his brow gently, "Quil, you can tell me anything."

"Well..." Quil circled his hands around her waist and effortlessly lifted her off of him and back into her horizontal position on the bed. He sat up so he was looking down at her and took a deep breath, appearing as if he was swallowing hot coals.

"I'm a werewolf."

* * *

****Author's Note: OH MY GOSH EVERYONE! I am so sorry it took me forever to post another chapter of this story! I kept thinking about it and wanting to come back to it but I just had too much school work to write any fanfiction. I'm glad I was able to find some time over this holiday break because I missed Claire and Quil so much. I hope everyone didn't abandon me and there are still a few people out there still interested in me! Thank you so much to everyone who has been reading, reviewing and adding me and my story to their favorites despite my ridiculously long absence from the scene. You make my world turn! I'm happy to be back! Tons of love, Katie**


	5. Revelations and Mysteries

Chapter 5

Claire's laughter filled the room.

"Yeah, okay, Quil, and I'm a glittery unicorn. What is it really?"

He blinked at her owlishly. Maybe this was the perfect escape from this conversation; surely he could think of something quickly enough to make it seem like it was something completely ordinary he was speaking to Jacob about. Did he really want to lie to Claire though? Could he lie to Claire even if he wanted to?

He thought not.

"Claire I'm serious. You're going to have to trust me."

She was still laughing, and any other time the sound would have warmed him from head to toe. However, right now there was some mix of frustration and chagrin running through him. He ran a hand through his hand impatiently, desperately trying to think of a way to make her understand. How do you tell a perfectly normal 23 year old woman that werewolves, creatures that are supposed to be nothing more than myths you heard in campfire stories when you were young, are real?

Quil circled his fingers completely around Claire's upper arms and carefully pulled her into a sitting position again, trying not to jostle her car-battered body. He looked into her eyes with the most earnest, intense gaze he had ever given anyone in his life. As she met his gaze, he saw her eyes change from amusement, to confusion, to suspicion, to horror.

"Why would you say something like that to me, Quil? What the hell are you talking about?" She sounded a bit hysterical, and he noted that her hands were balled into fists.

"Claire, honey, remember those stories my father used to tell everyone at the big gatherings about our ancestors? About how the Quileutes are descended from wolves and how we used to shift shapes from human to wolf to protect our tribe and our people? It turns out those stories were all true."

The color had completely drained from Claire's face and she looked like she was going into a bit of shock. Quil was seriously kicking himself and wishing that he had taken the lying route even if it was uncomfortable for a while. Why did he think this was a good time to have this conversation after she had almost gotten into a major car accident last night? Two bouts of serious shock this close together couldn't be good for a person.

"So you're telling me that you, Quil Ateara, morph into some kind of half-man half-wolf thing? Is this like a when-the-full-moon-turns-you-crave-human-blood thing? Is Van Helsing after you?" She was hyperventilating, and he recognized that she was making jokes in a feeble attempt to cover up how upset she really was.

He stroked a hand down her hair, "No, Claire. Let me explain."

"No, Quil, don't explain please. When exactly were you planning on telling me about this? I can't imagine you just realized you were a werewolf when you woke up this morning, so you must have known about this for a while, and I'm guessing a lot longer than I'd even like to admit to myself right now. And here I was thinking that we had a completely open friendship with no secrets. I guess I completely missed the mark on that one, didn't I? What else are you keeping from me? Do you i_really/i_ have a wife and kids? Are they waiting for you to get home and make eggs for them?" She hadn't taken a breath since she had begun her rant, and she was now shaking and fighting tears.

He winced, "I wanted to tell you, but it was just never the right time. This isn't exactly the easiest thing to explain to someone, and for a while I wasn't even allowed to tell you."

"Allowed? Is there some kind of werewolf rule book that you have to follow or something? What rite of passage are you taking right now?" She let out a choked sob, "I don't know if I want any part in this, Quil. I love you, but I don't understand what is going on here."

She reached up to put her hands to her face, but only got her arms to move halfway before her face contorted with pain. "Stupid car. Stupid La Push. Why did I even come back here? I should have just stayed in stupid Los Angeles." She was crying in earnest now, full racking sobs shaking her small body and making her look like more of a child than Quil had seen her in years. It was breaking his heart.

He reached over and pulled her carefully into his lap, rocking her slightly. "Shh, honey. I'm so sorry. We'll figure this all out, okay?"

She buried her face in his chest and said in muffled tones, "Are you the only one? The only...God.._werewolf?_"

There was a long pause and Quil thought, _Well, you've gotten this far._

"No, there's Sam, Jacob, Embry, Paul, Seth, Leah, Brady, and Collin."

The sobbing stopped, and he could feel her holding her breath. After a moment, he looked down at her and saw her squeezing her eyes shut. "You must be kidding me. That's half of La Push right there. And Sam? Why didn't anyone think this was an important enough thing to tell me? I can't believe Emily didn't tell me."

Quil leaned back a bit to look at her and brush his hand over her hair again, a gesture that was becoming one of his favorite things to do. He could already see it becoming a habit. "Claire, there's something else. There's a reason why they wanted to wait for me to tell you."

"Great, because all of this isn't enough to absorb."

He grimaced and pressed his thumbs to his eyes. He would be crushed if she rejected him now. She had the choice, but he certainly didn't. "I can wait if you want. I would understand. This was a bad time to tell you everything in the first place."

She turned her face up to him, and even tear streaked and swollen, she took his breath away. "No, Quil, better to rip the band-aid off. What is it?"

"Well, there was another part of the myth that no one paid much attention to because it seemed pretty unimportant and unlikely. It was this thing called imprinting. The idea was that the moment a man who was also a werewolf saw the woman who was his soul mate, he would be completely bound to her for life. He'd have no choice but to be absolutely devoted to her for the rest of his life. The woman has the choice to go her own way, but he would still be only hers forever." Quil brushed a stray tear away from Claire's cheek. "No one even thought about it until Sam imprinted on Emily. And then..."

Quil paused and there was a deafening silence in the room for a few moments. Claire frowned, baffled, but then, realization dawned. She bolted upright, her wounds completely forgotten.

"No way. You imprinted on me? That is what you're trying to tell me, isn't it? Otherwise you wouldn't be giving me your super-serious meaningful Quil look." He was braced for more anger, but he slumped in relief when the bright grin spread across her face, "So your heart is lost to me forever, huh? Well, that's quite the predicament you're in, Ateara. When did this all happen?"

His lips pursed together, and he looked down at his hands, evading the question, knowing there would be another explosion.

She grabbed him by the chin, bringing his gaze back up to hers, "Quil, how long have you known?"

"Uh, since you were two years old."

She blinked at him, "What? I realize we're on a reservation but I still don't think that's legal."

He snorted, "Yeah, well, I'm quite the criminal." He shook his head, "No, Claire, imprinting changes to fit however the soul mates need each other. When you were two, you needed me as a big brother. When you were a teenager, you needed me as a best friend. Before you left for California, I had started allowing myself to at least acknowledge these feelings for you, but I promised myself I would never act on them until we were both adults," Quil took her by the hand and squeezed gently, "But I can't take them back. I really am lost for you in every way I could be."

She brought the hand that wasn't clasped in his up to her forehead, and he noted it was shaking a bit. "Wow. I mean...wow." She shook her head, "This is a lot to take in."

"I know. I understand if you need some space. I'll give you as much as you need." _Even if it kills me._

"No, Quil, I don't want space. You tell me you love me like no one else ever has or ever will and you think I want space? I'll admit this is kind of overwhelming, but how could I possibly turn my back on that?" She laughed incredulously, "I always knew there was something. I thought it was just a crush, though, not fated love. I'll take it though."

She grinned at him, "We'll address the werewolf thing later, if you don't mind. I'd like to focus on this right now."

She slowly turned her body off of his lap so she could rise on her knees and bring her face level to his. "I loved you before you told me about this imprinting insanity, Quil. You should know that." With that, she brought her lips slowly to his, testing. She gripped his shoulders to hold herself steady and he circled his hands around her waist to stabilize her.

He thought he might die right then from a mix of love and overwhelming desire. Claire hadn't rejected him, and now she was assaulting him with kisses that were sure to cause him to lose his mind. He pulled her closer, not using any of the force he had the night before, now completely conscious of the soreness her body was wrought with. Murmuring, "Claire," against her lips, he lowered them both to the bed.

Quil braced himself above her, taking all of the strain off of her body. He nuzzled against her face and said, "Claire, I love you more than I could ever even put into words." Tangling one hand in her silky black hair, he lowered his mouth to hers again and nipped at her lower lip. The feel of his body against hers was like a dream, and her taste was glorious against his tongue; something reminiscent of spiced vanilla. She sighed and ran her hands up under his shirt, tracing her fingertips over the strong muscles of his back. His whole body shuddered with the contact, and he growled, "You're going to kill me, woman."

He felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over his head when he heard the front door of Claire's house open and her parents shouted, "Hello! Clairebear? Are you home?"

His eyes snapped open, a look of sheer terror in them. Claire giggled softly, trying to muffle the sound in his shoulder, "We better finish that house soon. Do you know how to sneak out of a window?"

He leaned down to plant another mind numbing kiss on her lips before darting to the window, grinning once before hopping gracefully over the sill.

He heard her shout, "Yeah, mom, I'm in here!"

* * *

When eight o'clock rolled around, the glow still hadn't worn off of Quil. He wasn't sure it ever would, but he knew it would be gone anytime soon. He was already preparing himself for the mental beating he was going to be getting from his brothers tonight.

Having left his house somewhat early, he walked at a leisurely pace to the edge of the forest where he removed his ragged sweats and bound them to his calf. He did this almost reflexively, having done it so many times, he didn't even think about the movements anymore. He phased easily and broke into a run, heading to the cliff top where he and his brothers were meeting tonight. However, it wasn't long after setting out that he almost ran smack into Jacob, who had stopped dead in the middle of the path to the cliff.

_What the hell, Jake?_

He was met with silence.

Quil's stomach churned uneasily and he felt the hair on his back rise a bit.

_Jake, brother, what's the deal?_

He paced up softly and nudged Jake gently in the side of his neck. What bothered Quil more than Jake's lethargy was the fact that he didn't hear anything in his head. Not one word. Jake turned his head and Quil saw an eerie, blank gaze there.

_SAM. Where the hell is everyone? What is going on out here tonight it's like the Twilight Zone!_

He had never been more relieved to hear Leah's voice in his entire life. It sounded muffled, as if she was speaking from behind a closed door.

_Leah, where are you? I'll meet you._

_Quil? I'm at the cliff where we were all supposed to be, but I'm the only one here. Where are you?_

_I'm in the woods with Jake...but he's apparently not feeling himself. I'll be right there._

Quil bolted as fast as he could up to the cliff top, thankful that someone had answered him, and praying that by the time he got there Leah was still herself. When he got there, she was pacing a track in the familiar stone ledge.

_Hey, maybe we should phase back. I don't know what's going on, but it seems to happen when we're in our wolf form, I guess._

_I don't know, Quil, what if the rest of them are trying to contact us..._

_Yeah, but what if we lose each other too?_

She stared at him for a moment, her deep brown eyes meeting his in serious contemplation. After a moment, he watched her phase back and pull the clothes on from around her ankle. He followed suit. They were completely beyond modesty and self-consciousness in the pack after twenty five years. He looked up to see that she appeared just as worried as he did.

"You couldn't get Jake to respond at all?" Her voice wavered. She and Jake had begun an unexpected relationship after Bella had left with Edward. Quil supposed it made sense; they had so much in common, having both been jilted by their lovers. It was strange at first, but it made them both a bit less tortured, and that was worth a lot.

He shook his head, "I called to him a few times and also physically nudged him, and no response. He didn't even look like was mentally present."

Leah continued her pacing, her palm across her forehead in a clearly worried stance. "Can we just walk down there to him? Maybe we can snap him out of it from our human forms?" She turned her eyes up to him, trying to put on a brave face, but mostly failing. "Please, Quil, I can't just stand here and do nothing."

Quil thought about how he had felt the night before when he pulled Claire out of her mother's car on that dark street, cradling her down that street to her house while she groaned in pain. He grimaced at the memory and nodded, "Yeah, sure. Let's go."

They ran down the mountain at a pace which would put Olympic runners to shame, but still wasn't nearly as fast as how they could run in their wolf form. He could feel the nerves emanating off of Leah, and couldn't blame her. He was worried about Jake himself; he had been Quil's best friend since childhood and that hadn't changed all the way into manhood. Not to mention the rest of the pack. Why hadn't they answered either? It seemed something was seriously wrong.

When they reached Jacob, he was sitting naked on the forest floor with his head in his hands, phased back into his human form. Leah ran over to him and put her arm around his shoulders.

"Jacob what happened to you? Quil said he couldn't get you to respond to him, and I didn't hear you at all. I didn't hear anyone." Leah was almost crying now, but Jake still hadn't lifted his head. Quil frowned and walked slowly over to the crouched couple.

"Jake, man, you all right?" Quil spoke very quietly, as if approaching a very skittish animal. Jacob didn't seem to be shying away from either of them, but Quil sensed that something wasn't quite right. "You kind of scared me a bit ago."

Jacob twitched, the first movement he made since they had found him, and said something that they couldn't hear into his hands.

Leah leaned closer, "What? I couldn't hear you, Jake. What did you say?"

Jake lifted his head, his face twisted with pain and another emotion Quil couldn't identify.

"I'm losing control."

* * *

Leah and Quil managed to get Jacob dressed and back to the house he and Leah shared. They put him straight to bed where he fell asleep in a matter of seconds. Quil and Leah moved out to the small kitchen to sit at the table and try and figure out what to do next.

Leah put her head down on her crossed arms, "What the hell, Quil. I don't think I've ever been so scared in my life. I don't even know where to begin to take care of this."

Quil shook his head, "I'm going to try to call Sam." Taking the cell phone out of his pocket, he flipped it open and dialed Sam's memorized number. It rang a few times before he heard the pack leader's voice on the other end of the phone.

"Quil. You found Jake?" Sam's voice was rife with tension and worry, but Quil was just glad that he had answered.

"Yeah, man, he was a zombie in the middle of the forest. Any particular reason you ditched us on the cliff top?"

Sam paused, "Yeah, Embry was a zombie too, as you've so gracefully called it."

"No problem. Any idea what's going on? The suspense is killing us." Quil picked up a pen that was lying on the table and tapped it against the well worn wood in a nervous tick.

"Not yet, I'll let you know, though. Tell Leah to stay with Jake and call me if anything happens. You should go be with Claire. Ask her to stay with you and do the same. I know you told her, so ask her to try and understand one more thing. She will."

Quil rubbed an overwhelmed hand over his forehead, "Yeah, alright. Keep me updated."

He flipped the phone shut and looked up at Leah, finding her staring at him with a look of intense frustration.

"Hey, don't kill the messenger. I'm going to go find Claire." Quil placed her hand over Leah's on the table, "Call me if you need me, okay? You know I'll be here in a minute."

"Yeah, if you're not a zombie too."

Quil had nothing to say to that, so he just stood up and set out for Claire's house.

* * *

Quil made it to Claire's house in record time, and padded quietly around the yard to her window. Peering through the glass, he saw that she had already gone to sleep. He frowned and shook his head. _Of course she did, idiot, it's 1 am._

_He considered just going home, but he didn't want to disobey Sam. Not to mention, he was a little scared he would turn into a zombie all alone. With that thought in his head, he lifted the window slowly from its closed position._

He climbed into the room as quietly as he could, not wanting to startle her. She stirred a bit, and he closed the distance between the wall and her bed in two easy strides. He knelt down beside her head and pressed a warm hand against her forehead.

"Claire, baby, I need you to wake up," he whispered in her ear.

She sighed and moaned a little, "This better be good, Ateara. Or you better at least be bringing me sex better than what we were just having in my dream."

He chucked quietly, even as a wave of desire punched into him. That would have to wait for a different time though. "I'm sorry to say I don't have sex for you, but it is important. Will you come back to my apartment and sleep with me tonight?"

Her eyes fluttered open and met his sleepily, "I'm listening."

"There's something weird going on with the pack—Er...the other guys who you just found out are also werewolves. Sam wanted to know if you would stay with me and call him if anything weird happens." He held his breath, hoping it wasn't too soon to ask for this kind of favor.

He could see her eyebrow lift even in the dim light of the room, "Weird besides you being a mythical beast?" She shook her head slightly, "Wait, _Sam_ asked you if I could come and sleep with you? That's not something I thought I'd ever hear." She snorted softly, but propped up on her elbow, "Of course I will, especially since I'm worried now. You can explain on the way."

* * *

****Author's Note: Oh my gosh everyone! Your response to Chapter 4 was AMAZING. Thank you SO MUCH! I was so inspired to write Chapter 5 because you guys were so wonderful with your comments and your fav story and author adds. It's that kind of support that makes me keep writing. You guys are the best readers a girl could ever ask for! Love, Katie**


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